How Paul Millsap kept the Nuggets afloat while Jamal Murray’s shot went AWOL

It took Jamal Murray in cheat code mode — if you’re rocking NBA Jam on the Super Nintendo, press B, B, B, B, B, B, B, then press and hold Up, Y, B to simulate Murray’s fourth quarter — to drag the Nuggets, kicking and screaming, over the finish line. But without Paul Millsap kicking tail and taking names at the start of the race, Denver’s offense might’ve spent even more time Tuesday night spinning its bloody wheels.
“He was great for us,” Nuggets center Nikola Jokic said of Millsap, who dropped 20 points — 15 in the first half — on San Antonio to start turning the engine over on a 114-105 Game 2 victory over the Spurs at the Pepsi Center. “We were kind of confused in the beginning, and he just took over … Just his experience, like, his calmness, that put us back in the game.”
While we’re toasting the heroes at the end, how about a little love for the guy pulling the sled at the beginning, too? Millsap, the Nuggets’ unflappable 34-year-old power forward, was responsible for 11 of Denver’s 21 first-quarter points and accounted for half of the squad’s first eight field goals, keeping the hosts afloat as the offensive woes that bedeviled most of the roster in Game 1 started cranking right back up again, one blasted brick at a time.
“(I was) just being aggressive,” Millsap said. “I think it was a conscious effort to just go out there and try to be aggressive, no matter what happens, attack the basket, try to get fouls and … (try to) help, make the right play.”
Millsap hopped right back on the horse during the Nuggets’ comeback for the ages — Denver outscored the Spurs 55-30 over the game’s final 17 minutes — in the fourth quarter, crashing the lane with Denver down five. On a left-handed layup with 6:49 left in the contest, the Louisiana native drew a foul, then slid across the floor, fanny-first, in a semi-acrobatic descent, then converted a 3-point play that trimmed San Antonio’s cushion to 95-93.
“When you see him playing, he’s just so patient and nothing can surprise him,” said Jokic, who added 21 points and snatched a game-high 13 boards. “He can make — I mean, he can shoot some super shots. But that’s what he does.”
Tuesday marked the 14th time in 10 different postseason runs that Millsap has collected at least 20 points in an NBA playoff game. The veteran forward’s last appearance in the postseason before this month was in 2017 as a member of the Atlanta Hawks; two Aprils ago, Millsap dropped 19, 27, 29, 19, 21 and 31 points, respectively, over six first-round contests with the Washington Wizards but the Hawks lost the series, 4-2.
“Paul’s got so much experience,” said Monte Morris, who chipped in with 11 points and six assists off the bench. “(Those are) the type of performances the team expects from him. We know what he’s capable of doing. I think this (was) his 80th playoff game (Tuesday).”
Actually, it was his 89th. And 44th start. But, hey, when you’ve having this much fun knocking Rudy Gay and (Davis) Bertans around, who’s counting?
“So we lean on Paul, we went through him a lot and he kept us in the game,” Morris continued. “We’re just happy that Paul got it going. He’s had it going — since the All-Star break, I think, he’s been locked in.”
Over 24 post-All-Star game appearances in the regular season, Millsap averaged 13.4 points and 8.3 boards, up 1.2 points and 1.6 rebounds per game from his pre-break pace. And yet the Spurs continued to double-team Jokic whenever he got his paws on the rock in the lane, sage coach Gregg Popovich daring anyone other than the 7-foot Serbian to try and beat him.
Millsap obliged early.
Murray obliged late.
“We had to have this one,” Millsap stressed. “Going down 0-2 into San Antonio would’ve been a tough situation for us. But to pull this one off the way we did, it’s unbelievable.
“It gives us confidence, a little momentum. And it shows us how to play. I think down at that 6-minute mark in the third quarter on out is how we need to play basketball. And it’s good to see that, especially here. We’ve got to take it on the road.”